Curtain Raiser: Exercise SCO Peace Mission 2018

As part of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) initiatives, SCO Peace Mission Exercise is conducted biennially for SCO member states. The joint exercise for the year 2018 will be conducted by Central Military Commission of Russia from 22 August to 29 August 2018 at Chebarkul, Chelyabinsk, Russia. This will be a historic occasion due to the maiden participation of India post becoming a full member of the SCO in June 2017. The exercise will involve tactical level operations in an international counter insurgency or counter terrorism environment under SCO Charter. The Indian contingent is primarily composed of troops from infantry and affiliated arms & services along with Indian Air Force. This exercise marks a major milestone in the multilateral relations of SCO member nations. The Indian contingent has been put through a strenuous training schedule which includes firing, heliborne operations, combat conditioning, tactical operations and house intervention drills. The joint exercise will strengthen mutual confidence, interoperability and enable sharing of best practices among armed forces of SCO Nations. It will be a landmark event in the history of SCO defence cooperation.